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Miami, FL – The Audi Melges 20 fleet is proud to bring the 2013 Miami Winter Series to a close with the highly anticipated 2013 Bacardi Miami Sailing Week organized by STUDIOMILANO. The fleet continues to break participation records with 51 boats planned to be in attendance starting on , March 7 in Miami, Florida.

Continuing with the huge success of the fleet, the International Audi Melges 20 Class Association (IAM20CA) is thrilled to welcome the very first Japanese teams ever to race on the global circuit. Yousuke Watabe and Shibuki Iitsuka on JPN 241 and Naofumi Kamei and Kan Yamada sailing Mamma Aiuto! will convene on the starting line with the rest of the fleet for the Audi Melges 20 Miami Winter Series Event No. 3.

This highly diverse fleet will represent USA, Canada, British Virgin Islands, Italy, and now Japan. Yamada, Melges Japan sales representative, is ecstatic about the fleet growth in Japan.

“The Audi Melges 20 fleet is a perfect fit for the Japanese sailors and many have already shown great interest in the boat and for good reason.” Yamada explains, “The Audi Melges 20 is an extremely attractive boat with the no hiking aspect, ease of mobility, screaming downwinds, and of course a highly competitive and a well supported fleet. My mission is to educate every Japanese sailor on just how wonderful the Audi Melges 20 truly is and about the phenomenal backing the IAM20CA provides to every single member of the class.”

The stakes are heightened with the Audi Melges 20 Winter Series title up for grabs this weekend. The competition is incredibly close with current overall leader John Kilroy’s Samba Pa Ti tied for points with Richard Davies’ Section 16 in second. In third place is Marcus Eagan’s Cajun Underwriting who is also tied for points with Rob Wilber’s Cinghiale in fourth place. The Series includes the best of all three combined scores from the Miami Winter Series of regattas.View The 2013 Miami Winter Series Ranking.

Registration, practice, regatta preparation and opening ceremonies happen on Wednesday, March 6, with racing taking place Thursday through Saturday (eight races are scheduled). The Melges Skippers meeting will take place at Coconut Grove Sailing Club (CGSC) (at 6:00pm on Wednesday, March 6th. Over the course of the weekend a grand host of Melges social events are on tap including the Melges Performance Sailing De-Brief Session presented by EFG Bank on Thursday afternoon post racing at GCSC, and the party everyone can’t wait to attend – the MELGES ROCKS! party happens on Friday, March, 8 at 8:30 until at Mr. Moe’s in the Grove. See you there!

MEDIA AND RACING COVERAGE
As with many previous Audi Melges 20 events in North America and around the world, racing updates will be posted online at theOfficial Class Blog. Tune-in regularly for the latest developments, conditions and results. Stay close to theOfficial Audi Melges 20 Facebook Page for photos and further commentary. Race reports, press releases and photos will be available online each day post racing atmelges20.com.